Boy George charged over 'cocaine find'

Eighties pop sensation Boy George was arrested by police in New York today and charged with possession of cocaine.

The former Culture Club star was detained by police who were responding to a report of a burglary at his luxury Manhattan home.

A New York Police Department spokesman said the singer, whose real name is George O’Dowd, was charged with two counts of possessing cocaine and falsely reporting an incident.

The spokesman said police responded to an emergency call made by George at 3.15am (8.15am Irish Time).

“The call was about a possible burglary. Police arrived there, and they saw in plain view an amount of cocaine near a computer. They also recovered another, larger quantity of cocaine at the location,” he said.

George, who was listed in the police report as a 44-year-old white male, weighing over 14 stone, and 5ft 11ins tall, was taken into custody.

He remains in custody and will appear before a judge in the next 24 hours, the police spokesman said.

Police said there was a woman at the apartment but refused to describe her relationship to George.

George was charged with two counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance – possession in the third degree and in the seventh degree – relating to the varying quantities found in the two different parts of the loft apartment.

He is also charged with “falsely reporting an incident”.

Gay icon Boy George caught the public’s imagination in the 1980s when Culture Club shot to chart success with Do You Really Want To Hurt Me? The classic Karma Chameleon followed and their album Colour By Numbers sold in huge numbers.

George became a household name around the world and stayed in the headlines with attention-grabbing statements like declaring he preferred a cup of tea to sex.

He suffered from a well-publicised heroin addiction in the 80s, but recovered to pursue a career as a DJ.

George moved to the United States when his musical Taboo – based on the a club night in 1980s London – moved to Broadway.